The auditorium buzzed with energy and excitement as individuals from a plethora of different nations flooded into the warm room where delegates, staffers, moderators, advisors, and many more awaited intense debates, negotiations, and diplomacy. The stage was set with the secretariat sitting in a neat cluster and the keynote speaker, the United Nations’ Senior Social Media Officer Lorey Campese, accompanied by the school’s principal and Model UN advisor, all awaiting the beginning of the conference we had all been anticipating: AMUN XXV.
On Thursday, February 1, and Friday, February 2, the Bergen County Academies held its twenty-fifth Academy Model United Nations conference at its campus in Hackensack, New Jersey, with a skilled and informative secretariat leading the conference, including secretary-general Krystal Jiang (BCA ’24), and chargé d’affaires Luigi Aiello (BCA ’24).
AMUN XXV offered a wide range of topics to deliberate, thus not only allowing all delegates an opportunity to participate according to their interests but also encouraging as many people as possible to partake in this special conference.
“This year, AMUN [hosted] 11 committees ranging from topics like the global pharmaceutical industry to the Trojan War,” wrote Jiang on BCA’s AMUN website. “We openly invite new and experienced delegates alike to share our tradition of debate and teamwork. We firmly believe that there is room for everyone at AMUN and delegates of all experience levels will be motivated to create policies and solutions that could have real impacts.” A multitude of different schools took part in this year’s AMUN conference including Fort Lee High School, Cresskill High School, BCA, and even our very own Tenafly High School.
Leaving school early on both Thursday and Friday to attend this conference, fourteen THS delegates attended, representing eight different committees. THS US history and AACC teacher Ms. McKinnon guided these delegates to this special convention and prepared them accordingly. With countless hours spent writing position papers and researching their topics, these students represented Tenafly exceptionally well and got a glimpse into the wonders of international affairs, as well as got a few awards out of it.
First, Tenafly produced a winner from the WHO committee, the focus of which was on discussing the topics of reforming the global pharmaceutical industry and the effects of urbanization on human health. Representing Afghanistan in these complex world issues, Maia Goldman (’25) received a verbal commendation award, representing THS well in the local community.
However, that wasn’t the only award, as Dina Albert (’25) and Jemma Bienenfeld (’24) entered AMUN XXV together as a double delegation for the committee, DISEC, representing Switzerland. Putting on an excellent performance and defending their nation in the deliberations of militarization of AI and cyberterrorism, they shone through and won the award of honorable delegation.
Last, but certainly not least, SPECPOL produced yet another Tenafly victor. Representing Kenya in these two very messy conflicts and deliberating about war on the Korean Peninsula and the Syria and Iraq Conflict, Echo Senior Staff Writer JaeHa “Justin” Kim (’26) won the award of outstanding delegate for his committee, really making Tenafly stand out.
After two days of deliberating pressing issues and developing cohesive and strong solutions, AMUN XXV came to a close after welcoming high school students and perhaps producing future UN delegates, as well as providing each and every single one of the individuals involved with a lifetime’s worth of memories.
For any students interested in joining Model UN, reach out to Ms. McKinnon at [email protected].
